Second suspect sentenced for Coon Rapids mail theft

A second suspect who pleaded guilty in Anoka County District Court to a felony mail theft charge filed following a series of thefts of mail in Coon Rapids in October 2013 has been sentenced.

Lamonte Terrell Powers, 41, St. Paul, was placed on probation for three years July 15, given credit for 38 days spent in jail and ordered to pay $135 in fines and fees. He had pleaded guilty to the charge Oct. 31, 2013.

Probation conditions include random urinalysis and breath testing on demand at his own expense, no use of mood-altering chemicals and alcohol, no use or possession of firearms, provide proof of treatment and aftercare to the Anoka County Corrections Department, complete gambling assessment and follow recommendations, and do not enter establishments where the primary source of revenue is gambling.

In April, the court stayed a 19-month prison sentence for co-defendant Craig Allen Smith, 45, Coon Rapids, and placed him on probation for three years. He was also given credit for 81 days spent in jail. A felony possession of stolen checks charge was dismissed as part of his plea agreement.

Coon Rapids Police responded to the 900 block of 112th Avenue Northwest Oct. 1, 2013, on a call from a woman who reported that a green “Jeep-type” vehicle occupied by two men had pulled up to her mailbox, which had the flag up, and taken her mail, then gone to her neighbor’s mailbox, also with the flag up, and removed the mail, according to the complaint.

A second call came from the 11400 block of Quince Street Northwest, where the resident told police a green Chevrolet Tracker had pulled up to her mailbox – the flag was up – and a male leaned out and removed her mail.

The woman, who gave police the license plate number of the vehicle and a description of both the driver and passenger, also saw the suspects take mail from a mailbox on Olive Street.

Police located the vehicle, with the engine running, outside a nearby residence with a man identified as Smith, wearing a black baseball cap that the witness had described, standing beside it. He was arrested and told police that a man he identified as Powers was inside the residence, for which police received consent to search from the owner.

In a small billfold on the kitchen table, police found a driver’s license in the name of Powers and, among other items, checks from seven different Coon Rapids residents. All seven told police the checks had been stolen from their mailboxes, the complaint states.

Powers was not inside the residence, but police located him lying along the railroad tracks behind the home; the baseball cap he had on his person matched the description given by the witness of the passenger in the vehicle.